6 Financial Moves to End the Year Successfully

6 Financial Moves to End the Year Successfully

With the New Year quickly approaching, it’s not too late to end 2016 on a strong note. Time flies, but you still have the ability to organize your personal finances and move into the coming year in a position of financial strength. Here are 6...

With the New Year quickly approaching, it’s not too late to end 2016 on a strong note. Time flies, but you still have the ability to organize your personal finances and move into the coming year in a position of financial strength. Here are 6 financial moves that you should make promptly to finish off the year positively:

Review your Financial Goals

If you created a list of financial goals for yourself earlier in the year, then this is a great time to track your progress. The reality is that while many individuals create financial resolutions at the beginning of each year, few of us take the time to track our progress along the way.
Otherwise, if you’ve never created financial goals for yourself, then take the initial step of setting financial goals to head into the New Year on the right foot. Keep Reading: 5 best places to spend NYC

Pay off your Debt

The average household in the U.S. owes more than $7,500 on their credit cards, and if you only factor in those with credit card debt that number surges to over $16,000. The end of the year is an optimal time to make financial moves that will lower your debt, especially since this is a time when holiday shopping can easily get out of hand. If you receive a holiday bonus from your employer, then it’s strongly recommended to use it to lower your credit card debt. If you have too much credit card debt to pay off at once, you should consider a balance transfer credit card. Many issuers are offering no interest for up to 2 years.

Double-Check your Financial Standing

When it comes to your personal finances, you never want to be caught off guard. The end of the year is an appropriate time to make sure that your finances are in order, which includes tasks like monitoring your credit score and reviewing the designated beneficiaries of your retirement and insurance accounts. Keep Reading: Credit card habits to start in the new year

Increase your Retirement Contributions

Find out if you still have time to invest in your retirement by putting away more money in your 401(k) if you haven’t maximized your annual contributions. It’s never too early to start saving for retirement, and if you have spare money at the end of the year, this is a financial move that can pay off exponentially in the long run. This is especially relevant for Americans over the age of 50 that are approaching retirement and are allowed to contribute larger sums of money to their retirement accounts each year.

Lower your Tax Bill

It’s not too late to make charitable donations that will lower your tax burden for this past year. This is an excellent time to make a positive difference in the world while also helping yourself save money on taxes. Even if you’re not inclined to write a large check to your favorite charity, you can also lower your tax bill in certain circumstances by donating items that you no longer need. Just remember, hold on to your receipts!Keep Reading: How to plan a great new year's eve party on a budget

Plan Next Year’s Savings

If you’re disappointed with the amount of money that you’ve saved this past year, then set more aggressive goals for the coming year. Take the concrete step of creating a monthly budget that will allow you to save money each month, otherwise, you may end up with a similar feeling of regret a year from now.

6 Financial Moves to End the Year Successfully2015-12-022018-07-13/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/main_logo-01.svgCreditCards.orghttps://www.creditcards.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/business_woman_running_finish_line.png200px200px

CREDITCARDS.ORG

To ensure your online security when applying for a credit card, our site links only to official card issuer applications featuring 128-bit secure SSL encryption.

*Disclaimer: Creditcards.org strives to keep its information up to date and accurate. This information might deviate from what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific product’s site. All products and services are presented without warranty, and we encourage you to view the online services for further details about terms and conditions. When you click on the "Apply Now" button, you can review the terms and conditions on the issuer's official website.

Advertiser Disclosure: Creditcards.org is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The owner of this website is compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or clicks on links posted on this website. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. Creditcards.org does not review or include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers.

Editorial Disclosure: Editorial content, including card comparisons and card reviews are not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. Creditcards.org may be compensated through partnerships for referrals.

I. Information in these articles is brought to you by CreditCards.org. Banks, issuers, and credit card companies mentioned in the articles do not endorse or guarantee, and are not responsible for, the contents of the articles.